(not sure which black hole sucked up my first attempt at posting this. Tony?<VBG>)
On 9 Dec 2002 at 19:32, Mark Wendt wrote: > You might be astonished, but the baitcast guys have a special > guide mount called a spiral wrap. The first guide above the reel is > on top of the rod, the second, about 60 degrees to one side, the next, > about 60 degrees from that, and the next 60 degrees from that, so in > three guides or so, the line goes from the top of the rod to the > bottom. Hi Mark, I am familiar with this arrangement. A variation I used on a baitcasting rod during my tournament casting days where I had the reel positioned to the side, and the tip guide underneath. > And, believe it or not, this rod is spline checked also. > They put the spline on the top of the rod. Most custom tupperware > (read graphite or fiberglass) rod makers that I know of spline their > rods. It's a proven technique. If the professionals do it, and they > say it works, I say why not do it. It only takes a moment or two to > get the effective spline on the rod, and then you can use it to your > advantage. Call me the proverbial "why?" person, but just because an urban legend can be repeated over and over does not make it become fact. I am not saying "urban legend" applies to this topic, but I do doubt the arguments given may not stand up to close scrutiny. The core argument given for positioning the guides on the spline is to give it more backbone in one direction or the other. I say any bending in the direction a blank would resist _most_, will have the blank twist away from that plane to a condition where there is less resistance. If you accept this argument, then mounting the guides on the spline is the worst thing you could do when aiming for a tracking- true rod. This is laws of physics talking, not just lil-ol-me. In the real world decent blanks (and really, I do not believe there are any _bad_ blanks constructed these days, just variations in taper design, but that is another topic) will behave very well regardless which side you position the guides on. A case in point are the Sage rods. Few would argue that Sage produce lousy casting rods, yet they opt to position the guides 90 degrees off the spline. If the differences in guide positioning on or off spline would be so noticable as you suggest, the effects would also be noticable in an objective, not theoretical or subjective, manner. Cheers, Hans
